The present invention relates generally to a self-service checkout terminal, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for entering an item name into a self-service checkout terminal.
In the retail industry, the largest expenditures are typically the cost of the goods sold followed closely by the cost of labor expended. With particular regard to the retail grocery or supermarket industry, the impetus to reduce labor costs has focused on reducing or eliminating the amount of time required to handle and/or process the items or goods to be purchased by a customer. To this end, there have been a number of self-service checkout terminal concepts developed which attempt to substantially eliminate the need for a checkout clerk.
A self-service checkout terminal is a system which is operated by a customer without the aid of a checkout clerk. In such a system, the customer scans individual items for purchase across a scanner and then places the scanned item into a grocery bag, if desired. The customer then pays for his or her purchase either at the self-service checkout terminal if so equipped, or at a central payment area which is staffed by a store employee. Thus, a self-service checkout terminal permits a customer to select, itemize, and in some cases pay for his or her items for purchase without the assistance of the retailer""s personnel.
However, in particular to a grocery store, there are a relatively large number of items available in the store that do not have a bar code such as a universal product code (UPC) associated therewith. Generally, those items not having a bar code associated therewith are items whose price is based upon the weight of the item. Examples of such items include bulk foods, store prepared foods, and produce such as fruits and vegetables which are typically sold based on the weight of the item(s) to be purchased. The trend in the supermarket industry has been to determine the weight of an un-scannable item at the checkout terminal during the checkout process by using a weight scale (typically associated with a slot scanner device). What is meant herein by the use of the term xe2x80x9cun-scannablexe2x80x9d item is an item that is manually entered into a checkout terminal (i.e. entered in a manner other than by use of a scanner device).
In order to xe2x80x9ckey-inxe2x80x9d or otherwise process an un-scannable item, a customer operating the self-service checkout terminal must place the un-scannable item on the weight scale and then perform a checkout procedure for the un-scannable item which involves the input of the identity of the us-scannable item. The identity of the un-scannable item is typically input into the self-service checkout terminal by entering an item code such as a product lookup (PLU) code with a keypad or a touch screen associated with the terminal. However, the customer may not readily know the item code associated with the un-scannable item.
A number of varying approaches have been taken in regard to entry of the item code into the self-service checkout terminal. One approach that has heretofore been utilized is to have retail personnel such as a retail clerk enter the item code associated with each un-scannable item either at the terminal itself or at a remote supervisory terminal connected to the self-service checkout terminal via the store""s network. However, such an approach undesirably requires intervention into the customer""s transaction by retail personnel thereby increasing labor costs associated with retailer""s operation and potentially reducing the efficiency of the self-service checkout terminal if the terminal is idled while waiting for an available checkout clerk to enter the necessary item codes.
Another approach which has heretofore been utilized to enter the item code associated with un-scannable items is to place a book containing a list of all of the available item codes at a location near the self-service checkout terminal. However, use of such a book is inherently slow and it is difficult for the retailer to keep the book up-to-date thereby potentially causing confusion for the customer. Yet another approach which has been taken is to display an item selection menu on the display monitor associated with the self-service checkout terminal for use by the customer. Such item selection menus which have heretofore been designed contain an item list of each of the un-scannable items sold by the retailer. Such an item list is grouped into a number of categories based on the type of the item. For example, all fruits are placed in one category, all vegetables are placed in another category, and all bulk foods are placed in yet another category.
However, use of such an item list has a number of drawbacks associated therewith. For example, if the customer chooses an incorrect category at the beginning of his or her search attempt, he or she is likely not to find the item he or she is attempting to find. For example, if the customer chooses the xe2x80x9cvegetablesxe2x80x9d category in an attempt to find tomatoes, the customer may not locate the desired item (i.e. tomatoes) if the retailer placed tomatoes in the xe2x80x9cfruitsxe2x80x9d category. In addition, the item names are typically placed in alphabetical order within each category of the item selection menu. Hence, a customer attempting to locate xe2x80x9cBELL PEPPERSxe2x80x9d may be undesirably delayed if he or she is searching in the xe2x80x9cB""sxe2x80x9d section of the list and the item name associated with bell peppers is actually located in the xe2x80x9cP""sxe2x80x9d section of the list under the item name xe2x80x9cPEPPERS, BELLxe2x80x9d.
What is needed therefore is a retail checkout terminal which overcomes one or more of the above-mentioned drawbacks. What is particularly needed is a method and apparatus for entering an item name of an un-scannable item into a self-service checkout terminal which allows the customer to quickly and efficiently find an item name in an item list of an item selection menu. What is further needed is a method and apparatus for generating an item selection menu that facilitates quick and efficient identification of a desired item name by a customer operating a self-service checkout terminal.
In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a retail terminal. The method includes the step of determining if a user of the retail terminal operates an input device so as to enter a first character associated with a first item name and generating a first-character-entered control signal in response thereto. Moreover, the method includes the step of displaying a first menu having a first plurality of item names containing the first character in response to generation of the first-character-entered control signal. Yet further, the method includes the step of determining if the user operates the input device so as to select the first item name from the first plurality of item names listed on the first menu.
In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a retail terminal. The method includes the step of determining if a user of the retail terminal operates an input device so as to enter a first character, a second character, and a third character associated with a first item name and generating a character-entered control signal in response thereto. The method also includes the step of displaying a first menu having a first plurality of item names containing each of the first character, the second character, and the third character in response to generation of the character-entered control signal. Moreover, the method includes the step of determining if the user operates the input device so as to select the first item name from the first plurality of item names listed on the first menu.
In accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a retail terminal. The retail terminal includes a display monitor. Moreover, the retail terminal includes an input device for receiving input from a user of the retail terminal. Yet further, the retail terminal includes a processing unit electrically coupled to both the display monitor and the input device. In addition, the retail terminal includes a memory device electrically coupled to the processing unit. The memory device has stored therein a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processing unit, causes the processing unit to (i) determine if the user of the retail terminal operates the input device so as to enter a first character associated with a first item name and generate a first-character-entered control signal in response thereto, (ii) display a first menu having a first plurality of item names containing the first character with the display monitor in response to generation of the first-character-entered control signal, and (iii) determine if the user operates the input device so as to select the first item name from the first plurality of item names listed on the first menu.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful method and apparatus of operating a self-service checkout terminal.
It is moreover an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for operating a self-service checkout terminal.
It is yet further an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for entering an item name of an un-scannable item into a self-service checkout terminal which allows a customer to quickly and efficiently find an item name in an item list of an item selection menu.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for generating an item selection menu that facilitates quick and efficient identification of a desired item name by a customer operating a self-service checkout terminal.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and the attached drawings.